I long time ago, I started (but did not finish) writing a parsing engine for managing virtual paths, in other words being able to parse path strings that contain virtual folders into absolute paths. For example, given a virtual folder "test" that is attached to the "C:\" folder and points to "D:\somefolder\otherfolder", then a string "C:\folder\file.ext" would resolve to "D:\somefolder\otherfolder\file.ext".

Would this be something worth writing about? BDS 2006 supports virtual folders in its Project Manager, for instance, and most FTP and HTTP servers support virtual folders as well, so it is a technique with definate real-world applications. It wouldn't even have to be limited to file system folders, either. It could be applied to any type of hierarchy that can be represented in strings.

Yes, I think this topic is definitely worthy of an article. Most folks don't realize the extra work involved in processing virtual folders until they actually have to do it. A reusable parsing engine would prove quite useful.

Damon wrote:Yes, I think this topic is definitely worthy of an article. Most folks don't realize the extra work involved in processing virtual folders until they actually have to do it. A reusable parsing engine would prove quite useful.

I haven't forgotten about this. Just been too busy to finish my engine so I can write anything about it.